The Bright Ideas education grant program, sponsored by North Carolina’s electric cooperatives, strives to improve education in
North Carolina classrooms by awarding grants to Tar Heel teachers in grades K-12 for innovative, classroom-based projects that would not otherwise be funded.

Bright Ideas has funded more than 9,800 projects and awarded more than $10.2 million in grant money to North Carolina’s teachers over the past
20+ school years. Last year, North Carolina’s electric cooperatives collectively distributed about $610,000. Since the program’s inception
in 1994, more than 2 million students statewide have benefited from Bright Ideas grants financed by North Carolina’s electric cooperatives.